TAMPA – Drew Henson was part of another backfield yesterday. This time, though, there were not more than 100,000 fans cheering and the company he kept was distinctly third-string.

Inside Legends Field, the Jeters and the Giambis batted and went through fielding drills as about 1,000 fans cooed for autographs. On a diamond behind the complex, Henson wore an offensive lineman’s number (75) and mixed with more rejects than prospects to general disinterest.

Yet no one should confuse out of sight with out of mind. There are few more important figures to the Yankees’ future than Henson, who likely will be playing for Columbus at Toledo’s Fifth-Third Field on April 20, the same day he might have been the first draft pick ever of the NFL expansion Houston Texans.

“Obviously, I think about it a bit,” Henson said. “But I have no regrets at all. Because I love baseball. Being at the World Series last October in Arizona and feeling all that excitement reinforced what I did was right. The only feeling that could come close would be being the quarterback on a Super Bowl champion.”

And a funny thing about that: The MVP of Super Bowl XXXVI was Tom Brady, who in his last two seasons at Michigan competed against Henson. The relationship was often uneasy. But Henson feels the competition improved both players, perhaps helping Brady become a tough-minded NFL quarterback. Henson also said the two have become better friends since Brady graduated; they even talked on the phone last week.

This week, the Texans took tackles Tony Boselli and Ryan Young with the first picks of the expansion draft. They might have been Henson’s bodyguards. But these days, Henson said, he is more excited by what happened in the AFL than what might have been in the NFL.

In 33 Arizona Fall League games, Henson batted .314 with six homers and 33 RBIs, and fully felt progress from steadily playing baseball. He became a full-timer last March 26, signing a six-year, $17 million Yankee deal. That investment, though, motivated George Steinbrenner to push Henson quickly to Triple-A. It was a disservice. He hit just .222 with 85 strikeouts in 270 at-bats. Even a great athlete cannot rush the learning curve of this difficult game.

So, the Yanks obtained Robin Ventura and will keep Henson at Triple-A for 2002. There are scouts who question whether Henson will ever make up for all those lost at-bats, and learn to decipher pitches and find consistency in his swing. That doubt is absent within the Yankee hierarchy. They see 6-foot-5 size, undeniable power, athletic adaptability, intelligence and will, and envision no less than a Troy Glaus clone side-by-side with Derek Jeter for a decade.

They acknowledge the gaps in a normal baseball cycle, which is why instructor Graig Nettles never left Henson’s side during a bunting drill, imparting wisdom about positioning. But the officials say Henson has an intangible to fill in gaps in preparation for New York – enduring the scrutiny of 100,000 faithful at Michigan Stadium.

“I’m new to full-time baseball, but I’ve been at press conferences and played on national TV,” Henson said.

Henson, who was taken out of high school and turned 22 last week, said he would have to completely fail in baseball and have the Yanks quit on him before he would reconsider the NFL.

A sly, old third baseman said don’t worry. “That kid,” Don Zimmer said, “is going to hit a lot of home runs, and he is going to make a lot of money in this sport.”